This invention relates to apparatus for removing aerosols contained in the air escaping from a containment of a nuclear reactor plant in the event of an excess pressure in such containment, the air being fed to a water bath, via a line connected to the containment, a plurality of nozzles disposed in the water bath being connected to said line and having at east one perforate baffle plate disposed above them, a set of static mixing elements surrounded by a jacket being disposed above said baffle plate and in the water bath.
In a known apparatus of this type (published European patent application No. 403 424) the air leaving the water bath flows directly via a line into an outgoing air chimney without any further filtration stages. It has been found that a degree of separation (or decontamination factor) of approximately 1000 is achieved with the known apparatus. This Factor represents the ratio of the total aerosol particle concentration at the entry to the apparatus to that at the apparatus outlet. In order to avoid environmental pollution as far as possible, however, it is desirable to increase the degree of separation of the known apparatus, and this is the object of this invention.